In recent years, a mobile phone has included a function that performs data communication using a function for second communication, which is different from communication with a mobile phone, in addition to a call function and a mail function. Examples of the second communication function include a wire communication function such as RS232 or USB, and a short range communication function such as RFID, FeliCa, or NFC (near field communication). Moreover, in recent years, due to the realization of high-speed technology in short range communication, it has become possible for a large amount of data to be transferred between a mobile phone and a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as PC) and the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-242274 proposes a method in which either a mobile phone function or a second communication function can be activated, or both of the functions can be activated in this type of a mobile phone by using a switching signal. This method enables addressing a problem that occurs when the mobile phone function and the second communication function are used at the same time.
In a general method, when there is a desire to use the mobile phone function and a short range communication function as the second communication function at the same time, it has been necessary to set both functions so as to be operable at all times. In this case, however, if there is an incoming call/mail to the mobile phone during short range communication, an operator may accidentally operate the mobile phone, thus resulting in a failure in the short range communication, which is a problem. That is, during short range communication with a mobile phone having a short range communication function, a failure occurs in the short range communication if the operator accidentally operates the mobile phone because of an incoming call/mail to the mobile phone or the like, which is a problem.